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MoveOn is a community of more than 8 million Americans from all walks of life who use innovative technology to lead, participate in, and win campaigns for progressive change.Tue, 31 Mar 2015 16:17:39 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1VICTORY: Gov. Brown Signs “Dark Money” Disclosure Bill into Lawhttp://front.moveon.org/victory-gov-brown-signs-dark-money-disclosure-bill-into-law/
http://front.moveon.org/victory-gov-brown-signs-dark-money-disclosure-bill-into-law/#commentsWed, 14 May 2014 17:58:01 +0000http://front.moveon.org/?p=54335

In the wake of the large sums of out-of-state anonymous donations that flooded into California during the 2012 election, the Legislature took up SB27, which would require political nonprofits to identify their donors in California elections. Trent Lange of the California Clean Money Campaign, along with allies including California Common Cause, Credo Action, Courage Campaign, MoveOn.org, and others, launched a campaign to get the bill passed. After thousands of signatures were gathered, and thousands of calls made, the Legislature passed SB27, and Gov. Jerry Brown signed it into law, shining a light on “dark money” in California.

When the Hawaii Legislature took up an important bill to raise the minimum wage, Drew Astolfi of the organization Faith Action for Community Equity, along with allies and the Hawaii MoveOn Council, launched a campaign to raise wages for workers in the state. After months of campaigning, and after more than 1,000 signatures were collected and delivered to the state House, the Legislature voted to raise the minimum wage, and Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed the bill into law. Hawaii is the third state to raise its wage to $10.10 an hour this year, which will also apply to tipped workers.

After 250 UPS drivers in Maspeth, New York, were fired for protesting the termination of a fellow driver. So UPS driver Jairo Reyes, along with Working Families, created a MoveOn Petition to pressure UPS to reinstate them. More than 48,000 MoveOn members signed the petition, and shortly thereafter, UPS folded under the pressure, giving all the drivers their jobs back.

The Nebraska School Activities Association (NSAA) banned state speech champion Michael Barth from performing a poetry piece on gender identity at a recent competition. So MoveOn member Mike Nellis started a petition calling on the NSAA to allow Michael to perform his poetry. More than 12,000 MoveOn members signed Mike’s petition—and we won!

Last week, Arizona’s House and Senate passed S.B. 1062, a bill that would allow businesses to deny services as long as they invoked religious beliefs. The bill would mean a free pass for discrimination against marginalized groups like the LGBT community. That’s why the organization GetEQUAL started a MoveOn Petition, demanding that Republican Gov. Jan Brewer veto the anti-business, anti-equality, anti-LGBT bill. Pressure for a veto grew as more than 7,000 MoveOn members added their names to the petition, and yesterday, Gov. Brewer vetoed the bill, stating it had “the potential to create more problems than it purports to solve.”

All around the country, voting rights are under attack—but MoveOn members are fighting back with the Defend the Vote campaign.

Last year, the Supreme Court gutted the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Since then, Tea Party governors and Republican legislators across the country have raced to implement new voter suppression laws, like limiting poll hours and shortening voter registration periods. But last month, a new bipartisan bill—the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014—was introduced in the House of Representatives to strengthen the Voting Rights Act. This bill is the best vehicle we have for restoring the rights struck down by the Supreme Court last year.

That’s why MoveOn members across the country have been campaigning to get their representatives to cosponsor and strengthen the bill. And we’re winning! Since we launched the Defend the Vote campaign in nearly 400 districts across the country, fourteen more members of Congress have signed on to co-sponsor the Voting Rights Amendment Act. MoveOn members Charles Shelby, Lilly Spitz, Aaron Mitchell, John Darcy, Catherine Launay, Grace Balch, Freemont Gilbert, Jack Young, Lee Witter, Christopher Beall, and Kimyotta Hankins all started MoveOn Petitions to their members of Congress Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5), Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-6), Rep. David Scott (GA-13), Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-4), Rep. Janice Schakowsky (IL-9), Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52), Rep. Fred Upton (MI-6),Rep. Dave Reichert (WA-8), Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-9), and Rep. Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2) who have now signed on to co-sponsor this important bill.

In July, the New York State Office of Mental Health announced plans to close two mental health facilities in the state’s Southern Tier—a move that would deny more than a million rural New Yorkers access to local mental health care. Morgan Willoughby started a MoveOn Petition to save the facilities and keep those vital services in the region. After thousands of MoveOn members signed the petition and called their state legislators, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the state has reversed course. The plan has been modified to include keeping the Elmira Psychiatric Center open and expanding the Greater Binghamton Health Center with increased clinic capacity and telepsychiatry services.

All across the country, MoveOn members are standing together against fracking. And in Erie County, New York, public sentiment against fracking was so strong that the county chair introduced a bill to ban fracking on county-owned land. Sarah Alexander of the organization Food & Water Watch started a MoveOn Petition to the Erie County Legislature, asking them to support the bill. Thousands of Erie County residents spoke up to protect their air, water, and communities—and they won! Fracking and its toxic wastewater are now banned in the county—a major step forward in protecting New York and the rest of the country from the dangerous effects of fracking.

When Yanko Matias and Eluvia Lopez were threatened with foreclosure, they knew they needed to take action in a big way. That’s why, along with the organization New Bottom Line, they started a MoveOn Petition asking the U.S. Senate to end the months-long battle to confirm Representative Mel Watt as the new head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The petition gathered thousands of signatures, and on December 10, the Senate confirmed Rep. Watt as head of the FHFA, paving the way for new regulations that protect American homeowners.

In 2010, progressive champions in the Senate, including Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, fought to pass the Volcker Rule firewall, which restricts high-risk trading by big banks. The rule, which is meant to protect taxpayers if Wall Street’s bad bets blow up, was met with massive opposition and political maneuvering from big bank lobbyists. That’s why Sen. Merkley started a MoveOn Petition telling Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to keep the so-called “JPMorgan Loophole,” which would blow holes in the firewall, out of the law. More than 77,000 people signed the petition, and on December 10, five regulators—including the Federal Reserve, the Securities Exchange Commission, and the FDIC—approved a strong Volcker Rule firewall. That means that going forward, Wall Street banks will be unable to gamble like high-risk hedge funds, protecting consumers from these “swing-for-the-fences” bets that crashed the economy and caused the Great Recession.

The ingredients that go into cosmetics and personal care products aren’t regulated by the federal government—so it’s up to stores to protect their consumers from toxic chemicals in these products. That’s why Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner of MomsRising.org started a MoveOn Petition telling retail giant Target to ban poisonous chemicals from the store’s beauty and personal care aisles, expand their selection of safer products, and increase transparency about their progress in addressing safe cosmetics. Thanks to family consumers who spoke up and joined the campaign, Target has adopted a new sustainability standard that will require their vendors to use more eco-friendly, healthy ingredients.

This year, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act and dozens of U.S. states got busy introducing restrictive voting bills that would prevent poor, minority, and elderly voters from making it to the polls. Meanwhile, some Massachusetts legislators were working to pass an election modernization bill that would allow online voter registration and early voting. That’s why Sara Brady of the organization MassVOTE started several MoveOn Petitions asking members of the Massachusetts General Court to stand up for the state’s voters and pass the bill. On November 20, after thousands of people signed the petitions and joined MassVOTE’s campaign, the Massachusetts House passed the bill onto the Senate, marking an important first step in election reform for the state.

When the Board of Education in Union, New Jersey, threatened to end the township’s highly successful Fall Academy program for local students, area resident Jeff Monge knew he needed to take action. That’s why he started a MoveOn Petition to the Board of Education, asking them to reinstate the Fall Academy. After the petition gathered nearly 200 signatures, the Board announced that it would start the Fall Academy program back up in November 2013.

]]>http://front.moveon.org/victory-beloved-school-program-in-union-rescued/feed/0VICTORY: NY Times Works to Inform Readers on Budgethttp://front.moveon.org/victory-ny-times-works-to-inform-readers-on-budget/
http://front.moveon.org/victory-ny-times-works-to-inform-readers-on-budget/#commentsWed, 23 Oct 2013 00:16:17 +0000http://front.moveon.org/?p=52625New York Times' tendency to report on budget numbers without contextualizing them was a problem—especially in light of the recent federal budget crisis. That's why MoveOn member (and former staffer) Daniel Mintz and Robert Naiman of Just Foreign Policy started MoveOn Petitions to Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan, asking her to institute a policy of always reporting budget numbers with percentages or comparisons. ]]>

The New York Times‘ tendency to report on budget numbers without contextualizing them was a problem—especially in light of the recent federal budget crisis. Big numbers in articles look scary and indistinguishable to readers who don’t understand the massive scale of the federal budget. That’s why MoveOn member (and former staffer) Daniel Mintz and Robert Naiman of Just Foreign Policy started MoveOn Petitions to Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan, asking her to institute a policy of always reporting budget numbers with percentages or comparisons. The petitions gathered more than 20,000 signatures and prompted a public response from Sullivan, who announced that the Times was working on new ways to make numbers-based stories clearer for readers.

In the midst of budget cuts to education in Philadelphia, schools were forced to lay off or cut hours for staff like teachers and school nurses. In October 2013, a student at one Philadelphia school suffered from an asthma attack that led to her death. If there had been a school nurse on campus that day, she might still be alive. This tragedy motivated Philadelphia parent Jesse Bacon to start a MoveOn Petition to Governor Tom Corbett, asking him to stop withholding $45 million of funding from Philadelphia schools. Thousands of MoveOn members signed the petition, and Gov. Corbett finally released the funding, which will allow schools to hire vital staff like school nurses.

]]>http://front.moveon.org/victory-governor-corbett-releases-education-dollars-to-philadelphia-schools/feed/0A Victory That You Helped Createhttp://front.moveon.org/a-victory-that-you-helped-create/
http://front.moveon.org/a-victory-that-you-helped-create/#commentsThu, 17 Oct 2013 15:12:13 +0000http://front.moveon.org/?p=52329 Big news: Yesterday a deal finally emerged that would end the government shutdown and stop the U.S. from hitting the debt ceiling. This is a victory that MoveOn members helped create.

But it’s a victory that comes at an enormous cost to America. Tea Party Republicans came within just 24 hours of defaulting on our national debt for the first time in U.S. history. They made our government look dysfunctional to the rest of the world, and brought us to the verge of wreaking havoc on the global economy.

Over the past two weeks, MoveOn members have worked tirelessly to get our government working again. There’s certainly still more to do—the deal makes it clear that we’ll have to go on offense soon to protect Social Security and Medicare—but if you’ve ever questioned whether you have the power to make change, check out how MoveOn members like you took action and kept up the pressure on lawmakers:

1. The campaign started when more than 1,000 MoveOn members dropped by congressional offices the very day the government shut down, leaving bags of tea and signs that read, “We’ve had enough tea, thanks.”

2. The next day we began encouraging millions of MoveOn members to enroll in the new health care exchanges available through Obamacare—the prime target of the GOP shutdown. Was this ever going to end the shutdown? No. But was it a slap in the face to Republicans intent on seeing the Affordable Care Act fail? Absolutely.

3. Around the same time, we began quantifying the real cost of the shutdown with this live counter at www.costoftheshutdown.com. To date, tens of thousands of people have shared our counter with their friends online—spreading awareness that the GOP’s stubbornness has cost the American people more than $4.5 billion.

4. Days later, after partnering with Public Policy Polling, we really changed the conversation by releasing a new poll—funded with small dollar donations from MoveOn members—showing that Republicans have made themselves vulnerable in the 2014 elections thanks to the shutdown. Democrats need 17 seats to take back the House—and our results have shown Republicans trailing in at least 25 districts. Here’s how MSNBC mapped out the results:

5. And none of this would have been possible if MoveOn members hadn’t launched more petitions and local campaigns than any time in the past six months—with a broad range of smart, strategic goals. More than 600,000 members signed petitions asking lawmakers to forgo their salaries until the shutdown ends. Others pressured their representatives to support smart legislative moves that could end the shutdown. And hundreds started petitions that included stories about how they’ve been personally affected by the shutdown—and asked that the GOP simply stop the madness. Many of these petitions were delivered at rallies around the country on Tuesday.

That’s just a glimpse of what MoveOn members have done together over the last two weeks, but it speaks volumes about the impact progressives have had during the GOP shutdown.

Making sure that Tea Party Republicans are held to blame for the shutdown by the public and the mainstream media—and that Democrats in Congress don’t buckle under the pressure for a bad deal—has not been easy. But MoveOn members have accepted the challenge.

And as the deal finally came into place, one thing that’s been made crystal-clear because of Tea Party Republican antics is that the GOP’s House majority is at risk next year, and we have the next 13 months to capitalize on their recklessness.

When news hit that Larry Summers, famed for helping to craft the policies that caused the recession, was the front-runner for chair of the Federal Reserve, Robert Naiman of the organization Just Foreign Policy, The Other 98%, and MoveOn member Aaron Camp created MoveOn Petitions telling President Obama to leave Summers out of the running. More than 22,000 MoveOn members added their names to the petitions. Facing mounting pressure from grassroots progressives, Summers called President Obama to officially withdraw his name from consideration.

]]>http://front.moveon.org/victory-larry-summers-wont-head-the-fed/feed/0Would You Watch And Share Something If You Knew It Had The Power To Change The World?http://front.moveon.org/would-you-watch-and-share-something-if-you-knew-it-had-the-power-to-change-the-world/
http://front.moveon.org/would-you-watch-and-share-something-if-you-knew-it-had-the-power-to-change-the-world/#commentsFri, 06 Sep 2013 18:07:47 +0000http://front.moveon.org/?p=51247We’re asking you to. Someone you know (maybe even you) will use this to change things. You have to make sure they see it. WATCH:

The health of Michiganders was at stake while Republican Governor Rick Snyder decided whether to accept new federal dollars to expand the state’s Medicaid program. That’s why Fran Brennan of the organization Working America created a MoveOn Petition to Governor Snyder, asking him to accept the funds. Thanks in part to the nearly 8,000 MoveOn members who signed the petition, Governor Snyder supported Medicaid expansion in Michigan, providing health insurance to 400,000 people for the first time.

]]>http://front.moveon.org/victory-michigan-expands-medicaid-program/feed/0VICTORY: Tribune Papers Spared From Koch Empirehttp://front.moveon.org/51832/
http://front.moveon.org/51832/#commentsThu, 22 Aug 2013 16:32:10 +0000http://front.moveon.org/?p=51832Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. The billionaire Kochs and their tea party politics presented a clear threat to independent journalism, so several organizations, including Forecast the Facts, Courage Campaign, Working Families started MoveOn Petitions asking Tribune Company CEO Peter Liguori not to sell to the Koch brothers. ]]>

When the Tribune Company went up for sale, it was widely reported that the Koch brothers were interested in acquiring its newspapers—including the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. The billionaire Kochs and their tea party politics presented a clear threat to independent journalism, so several organizations, including Forecast the Facts, Courage Campaign, and Working Families started MoveOn Petitions asking Tribune Company CEO Peter Liguori not to sell to the Koch brothers. More than 39,000 MoveOn members, from Florida to Baltimore and each state where a Tribune newspaper was up for sale, signed onto the petitions. After continued campaigning, the Koch brothers confirmed that they were no longer interested in buying the Tribune Company newspapers.